DX LISTENING DIGEST 5-148, August 28, 2005
Incorporating REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING
edited by Glenn Hauser, http://www.worldofradio.com
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NEXT AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO EXTRA 60:
Mon 0300 WOR WBCQ 9330-CLSB
Mon 0330 WOR WSUI Iowa City IA 910
Mon 0415 WOR WBCQ 7415 [usually closer to 0418-]
Mon 1600 WOR WBCQ after hours [stream has been down]
Mon 1800 WOR RFPI [repeated 4-hourly thru 1400 Tue]
Tue 1600 WOR WBCQ after hours [stream has been down]
Tue 2330 WOR WBCQ 7415 [usually]
Wed 0930 WOR WWCR 9985
Wed 1600 WOR WBCQ after hours [stream has been down]
Latest edition of this schedule version, with hotlinks to station
sites and audio, is at: http://www.worldofradio.com/radioskd.html
WRN ON DEMAND:
http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24
OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO [also CONTINENT OF MEDIA, MUNDO RADIAL]:
http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html
WORLD OF RADIO Extra 60 (high version):
(stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/worx60h.ram
(download) http://www.w4uvh.net/worx60h.rm
(WOR Extra 60 is the same as COM 05-06, with WOR opening added to hi)
WORLD OF RADIO Extra 60 (low version):
(stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/com0506.ram
(download) http://www.w4uvh.net/com0506.rm
(summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/com0506.html
WORLD OF RADIO Extra 60 in true SW sound of Alex`s mp3
keep checking http://www.dxprograms.net/
== due to poor propagation could not record at 2200 Wednesday
WORLD OF RADIO Extra 60 downloads in studio-quality mp3:
[Unfortunately this site +podcast were down as of August 26-28!]
(high) http://www.obriensweb.com/worx60h.mp3
(low) http://www.obriensweb.com/worx60.mp3
WORLD OF RADIO PODCAST: www.obriensweb.com/wor.xml (currently [not]
available: Extra 58, 1281, 1282, 1283, Extra 59, 1284, Extra 60)
** ARGENTINA. R. Continental, Buenos Aires, 5400-LSB, 0145-0205+ Aug
20, Spanish talk, LA music, 0203 ID; fair (Brian Alexander,
Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** ARGENTINA. 2005/08/27 -- Dia del diexista en Argentina
Argentina - 27 de Agosto - La Radio celebra sus 85 años de vida!!!
Casi simultáneamente con los Estados Unidos comienza en la Argentina
la transmisión regular de radio. Por iniciativa de cuatro jóvenes, uno
médico y otros estudiantes de medicina, Enrique T. Susini, Miguel
Mujica, César J. Guerrico, y Luis Romero Carranza, el 27 de agosto de
1920 un grupo de personas oyó desde sus casas una transmisión.
Instalaron en el techo del Teatro Coliseo una larga y complicada
antena y en dependencias interiores del teatro un transmisor de 5
watios, con una bocina parecida a la de los fónografos de la época
pero de dimensiones mayores. Estaba Yrigoyen en la presidencia y dicen
que comento así la hazaña: "Cuando los jóvenes juegan a la ciencia es
por que tienen el genio adentro". En 1921 fue posible transmitir casi
todas las funciones del "Coliseo".
Tres años después ya funcionan en el país 60.000 receptores y pioneros
del medio realizan experiencias fundamentales, como la difusión de
eventos deportivos y la utilización de publicidad (por primera vez en
el mundo según historiadores). . .
http://www.rti.org.tw/spanish/Extractos/content.aspx?ExpId=2111
(via Dino Bloise, FL, Noticias DX via DXLD)
** AUSTRALIA. 15425, HCJB Australia, 20 Aug, 1205-1225, in English.
Too weak before 1200, and after 1200 the station suffers from co-
channel QRM caused by BBC in French. That's why SINPO is only 22432.
Songs and believers' stories. On 28 Aug HCJB-Australia must resume
broadcasting at 1300-1600, cancelled some time ago because of bad 19
mb propagation to Asia during this time. Previously, station used
15405 kHz at 1300-1430, and 15390 kHz after 1430 (Dmitry Mezin, Kazan,
Russia, Signal via DXLD)
** BAHAMAS. Strong Es Bahamas to Massachusetts --- both 100.3 and
104.5 logged; 107.1 and 107.9 trying for; trying for 97.5; 94.9 won't
come thru WMAS slop - but 100.3 and 104.5 VERY strong stereo (Adam
Rivers, MA, 2204 UT Aug 26, WTFDA via DXLD)
Bahamas here too --- 94.9, 102.9 and 107.1 for sure. Possible on 102.1
(Keith McGinnis, Hingham MA, 2245 UT Aug 26, ibid.)
1720 [presumably EDT = 2120 UT] MORE94, 94.9, Nassau (Presumed)
Caribbean hip hop; accented English announcers; "Five O'Clock Road
Block" (Russ Edmunds, Blue Bell, PA (360' ASL), [15 mi NNW of
Philadelphia], 40:08:45N; 75:16:04W, Aug 26, FM: Yamaha T-80 & APS9B
@15', ibid.)
I've been in Nassau and 107.1/107.9, the ZNS stations, were not heard
at Cable Beach. They used to used for STL and were very low power (Ken
Simon, FL, ibid.)
That's wild. My old worn copy (2000 ed) of WRTH doesn't even list
107.1 or 107.9. Here is one link I found for stations down there.
http://www.tvradioworld.com/region1/bah/Radio_Tv_Frequencies.asp
I recorded my session so I'll try to pull out some audio of 107.1 and
post it on the WTFDA forum later today (Keith McGinnis, Hingham MA,
Aug 27, WTFDA via DXLD)
Not in WRTH 2005 either, just 104.5 for ZNS-FM, Power 104.5 apparently
separately programmed from the AM stations (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING
DIGEST)
** BELARUS [and non]. GERMAN BROADCASTER MAKES WAVES WITH RUSSIAN-
LANGUAGE PLANS --- By Jan Maksymiuk [as referenced in 5-144]
In June, Germany's international broadcaster Deutsche Welle announced
its plans to launch a Russian-language information program for Belarus
called the "Belarusian Chronicle." Official Minsk has so far remained
silent about plans for the daily show, which is scheduled to begin in
October. But many of Belarus's opposition and pro-democracy circles --
who in theory could only benefit from such an endeavor -- have reacted
with alarm, indignation, and even hostility. They want Deutsche Welle
to speak Belarusian to Belarusians.
Media have since reported that Deutsche Welle won a European
Commission tender to organize radio broadcasts to Belarus. Bidders
reportedly included international broadcasters Euronews and BBC World
Service. Brussels will spend 138,000 euros ($169,000) annually to
support Deutsche Welle's Belarus project, which is to continue for
three years. It was initially reported that Deutsche Welle would
broadcast 15 minutes a day to Belarus, but Deutsche Welle's Russian
Service Director Cornelia Rabitz later signaled that her team might in
September come up with a 30-minute daily program in which 15 minutes
would be devoted to European developments and another 15 minutes to
Belarusian domestic news.
Aleh Trusau -- chairman of the Belarusian Language Society, a
nongovernmental group working to support the mother tongue of most
Belarusians -- was the first to urge Deutsche Welle to launch its
Belarus broadcasts in Belarusian. "[Deutsche Welle broadcasts in
Russian] would plunge Belarusian listeners deeper into the Russian
information space and increase their isolation from Europe," Trusau
argued in an open letter to Deutsche Welle in June. And in an
interview with RFE/RL's Belarusian Service later in the month, he
clarified his position further by saying, "There are a lot of Russian-
language sections in international broadcasters -- Voice of America,
BBC, Deutsche Welle -- that employ emigrants from Russia with an
imperial point of view. For them, Ukraine and Belarus are not full-
fledged nations."
'Better Than Nothing'
Belarusian opposition leaders seeking the role of a joint democratic
candidate to face President Alyaksandr Lukashenka in the 2006
presidential ballot were cautious after news emerged of Deutsche
Welle's plans. United Civic Party leader Anatol Lyabedzka said
Deutsche Welle's broadcasts in Belarusian would be a more appropriate
option but immediately added, "If we cannot influence the development
of events, Russian-language broadcasts are better than nothing at
all." However, most opposition leaders with any chance of securing the
democratic parties' presidential nomination have chosen not to comment
on the issue in any way.
As for anti-Lukashenka intellectual circles in Belarus, Deutsche
Welle's project has sparked a heated debate over the fate of the
Belarusian language in particular, and the country's political and
civilizational choices in general. Belarusian political scientist
Vital Silitski, in an emotional letter published in the Minsk-based
"Nasha Niva" weekly earlier this month, appealed to Belarusians to
boycott Deutsche Welle's Russian-language broadcasts. Silitski argued
that the choice of Russian for broadcasting to Belarus is the result
of a "complete misunderstanding" of the Belarusian situation by
"European bureaucrats" who, according to Silitski, are following
Lukashenka in his attempts "to instill the notion in public opinion
that the Belarusian language has no prospects or real demand among
Belarus's citizens."
Silitski claimed that the EU decision to sponsor broadcasts to Belarus
by Deutsche Welle's Russian Service is "absurd," since the service
employs people "for whom Belarus is just an extra job and from whom
one cannot expect a deep knowledge or understanding of processes under
way in Belarus." Silitski stressed that "the revival of national
consciousness is a necessary condition for democratization of any
nation" and again scolded "European bureaucrats" for what he perceives
as their support of "the tendencies than consolidate the dictatorship
in Belarus." "Nasha Niva" called on its readers to become signatories
to Silitski's appeal.
Will Brussels Think Twice?
German diplomat Hans-Georg Wieck, former head of the OSCE Advisory and
Monitoring Group in Minsk and a staunch advocate of EU-sponsored
broadcasting to Belarus, responded to this wave of protests in Belarus
through RFE/RL's Belarusian Service earlier this month. Wieck said
that neither Brussels nor Deutsche Welle is against Belarusian-
language broadcasting. According to Wieck, there is currently no money
to organize Belarusian-language broadcasts. "This is a problem of
means. Now in Russian, later in Belarusian," Wieck said. "The
[Deutsche Welle] new project is only the beginning." Wieck stressed
that reaction to the Deutsche Welle project in Belarus is quite
understandable.
Wieck, who was instrumental in uniting the cantankerous Belarusian
opposition behind a single challenger to President Lukashenka in the
2001 presidential ballot, is doubtless among the most knowledgeable
Western experts on Belarus. He is also one of the very few who seem to
understand the important role of the Belarusian native linguistic and
cultural heritage in the possible democratization of the country. In
2001, some forces in the anti-Lukashenka electoral coalition all but
sabotaged the opposition campaign because of what they regarded as a
disastrous choice of opposition candidates. Uladzimir Hancharyk, the
single candidate "imposed" by Wieck on the Belarusian opposition in
2001, was a Soviet-era trade-union functionary who remained utterly
indifferent to the revival of the Belarusian language and culture.
This revival, which is being ardently advocated by a significant
segment of the Belarusian opposition as a sine qua non for Belarus's
"return to Europe" and no less stridently opposed by Lukashenka as a
major obstacle to his "back-to-the-USSR" drive, has now been dealt a
serious (even if indirect and/or unintended) blow by Brussels and
Deutsche Welle.
Will Brussels, as Wieck expects, think twice and take a more favorable
stance toward the Belarusian language (read: find money for
Belarusian-language broadcasting) in the future? Judging by all
appearances, not in the not-so-distant future. Because Brussels still
faces the task of crafting a strategic policy toward Lukashenka's
Belarus that would map out long-term priorities, not just "emergency
measures" on the eve of major political campaigns in Belarus, to which
Deutsche Welle's Belarus project appears to belong.
Belarusian Self-Awareness
It is difficult to imagine any "colored revolution" taking place in
Belarus next year. And it has already become obvious beyond any doubt
that Europe's assistance to pro-democracy activism in Belarus -- if it
is to be efficient -- should not limit itself to training in election
techniques but rather embrace a much wider program of activities
intended to bolster Belarusians' awareness that they are not a
"Russian" nation (as recently suggested by Russian President Vladimir
Putin) and that they actually belong to Europe, not to Eurasia. The
promotion of the Belarusian language, whether as a tool for imparting
free and unbiased information or a means for attaining a stronger
sense of national pride by Belarusians, arguably should be one of the
key priorities in such a strategic program of European assistance to
Belarus.
Deutsche Welle's Russian Service Director Rabitz told Belarusian
journalists that her company should be praised rather than criticized
for its Belarus broadcasting project. "It is stupid to say that
Russian is bad and Belarusian is good," Belapan quoted her as saying
on 8 August. Rabitz also noted that Deutsche Welle has been
broadcasting in Russian to five post-Soviet countries in Central Asia,
where she said these programs are valued, not criticized. Rabitz's
irritation is perhaps to be expected. However, as far as opponents of
Russian-language broadcasting from abroad to Belarus are concerned,
both of those arguments miss the point.
Apples And Oranges
First, nobody in Belarus appears to be imposing such a "bad-good"
evaluation on the two languages. The protests are directed primarily
against what is perceived as Deutsche Welle's emblematic support for
the policies and ideology of Russification promoted by Lukashenka in
Belarus. Some might ask, not without reason, why Deutsche Welle found
funding five years ago to sponsor Ukrainian-language broadcasting to
Ukraine -- the country Russified to a level comparable to that of
Belarus -- and was unable to repeat the act with regard to Belarus.
Rabitz's implicit comparison of Belarus with post-Soviet Central Asia,
her opponents in Belarus say, does not hold water either, since none
of those five post-Soviet republics has launched the kind of
nationally traumatic linguistic and cultural policy that Lukashenka
did 10 years ago in Belarus. In no former Soviet Union republic is the
situation of the titular language so pitiable as in Belarus. Although
the 1999 census suggested that 73.7 percent of Belarus's population
declared Belarusian as its native language and 36.7 percent said it
speaks Belarusian at home, Belarusian has been almost completely
replaced by Russian in public life and state-run media.
On the other hand, while many Belarusians (including many with
university diplomas) find it difficult to speak or write freely in
Belarusian, the overwhelming majority has no problems whatsoever in
understanding the language. Therefore, a Belarusian-language
broadcaster could reach the same audiences in Belarus as a Russian-
language one. This was amply demonstrated by the highly successful,
private, Belarusian-language Radio 101.2 in Minsk, which was closed
down by the Lukashenka administration in mid-1990s because, as one
commentator put it, it broadcast in the language of freedom, not that
of suppression.
One of the participants in the "Nasha Niva" discussion about Deutsche
Welle's planned broadcasts to Belarus said the use of Russian language
strips the project of any practical efficiency. He argued that tuning
in to the Deutsche Welle Russian-language program on shortwave (over
which Deutsche Welle will broadcast to Belarus) would be incomparably
harder than tuning in to a Belarusian-language broadcast because of a
multitude of other Russian-language stations on the shortwave
spectrum. Thus the use of Belarusian by Deutsche Welle would arguably
be a more pragmatic option. Some in Belarus believe that argument is
even more appealing than any case based on Belarusian trauma resulting
from its government's linguistic and cultural policies (RFE/RL Media
Matters Aug 23 via DXLD)
** BELIZE [and non]. Huge FM Es all over eastern / southern US ---
Belize, Mexico, Central America to the top of the band from here. 97.1
Integrity Radio Belize has been in for over 40 minutes now. Big FM
northeast to midwest, MUF over 144 MHz. Good DX (Randy KW4RZ Zerr,
Fort Walton Beach, Florida, 2305 UT Aug 27, EM60qk
http://www.geocities.com/kw4rz WTFDA via DXLD)
An interesting station. 87.9 Spanish, crummy audio, music and talk,
might be an ID in that. Several Belize and Guatemala FM's including a
good copy on 97.1 "Integrity Radio", 88.3 and 88.9 Love FM, 94.7 all
Belize. Not a peep out of 108-118 MHz air beacons, nor 144 MHz as
usual. Strange to see Es like this so late in the season. Good luck
DXing (Zerr, 0135 UT Aug 28, ibid.)
** BOTSWANA. Can anybody suggest me the valid email address for Voice
of America Botswana relay? I used rnelson @ bot.ibb.gov (as stated in
WRTH-2005), but my mail was returned due to unknown recipient.
Looking through Martin Schoech's QSL Info Pages, I noted that most
recent VoA-BOT verifications were signed by Thomas R. Powell,
Transmitter Plant Supervisor. Shall I try tpowell @ bot.ibb.gov then?
(Dmitry Mezin, Kazan, Russia, Signal Aug 27 via DXLD)
** CANADA. DX LISTENING DIGEST REPORTING OF CBC LOCKOUT
As a CBC employee of long standing, it is very refreshing to see
reporting of events in the non-judgemental style with which Glenn
Hauser presents the issues. Thank you, Glenn, for just reporting all
sides of the issue without comment. I highly urge all radio
enthusiasts to read DXLD.
I will be one (of certainly many) to make editorial comments and you
no doubt know where I stand on this. If you don't, then it will become
abundantly clear in a moment or two.
The CBC's position is presented in one of their many self-fellating
press releases and, speaking as a person who has never been a strong
union man, I have rarely read such disingenuous claptrap. The CBC's
timetable has been as predictable as the tide's rise and fall, and
many of us knew months ago, to the exact day, when we would be locked
out. Taking the holier-than-thou position that they DIDN'T want this
to happen, you should know that they took their shots at the first
possible opportunities.
The first big shot came earlier this summer when the CBC suddenly
called in federal mediation while both sides were actively bargaining.
The clock began running at that moment. True to form, the CBC gave
their 72-hour notice of a lockout at the very first opportunity to do
so. So much for the lie that they were interested in negotiating. At
one minute past midnight on Monday August 15, they pulled the plug.
On day one, Arnold Amber of the Canadian Media Guild, in his address
to the assembled picketers outside the CBC's Toronto headquarters made
it clear that the Guild was prepared to go back to the table at any
moment the CBC was prepared to pick up the talks. The CBC is
apparently willing to come back to the table but only on the
precondition that the main stumbling points of the contract talks are
conceded by the union BEFORE the resumption of "negotiations." So much
for meaningful bargaining. It's been like this for 15 months.
So why are 5500 employees out on the street while the majority of
CBC's bloated management sits on their thumbs with little to do inside
other than counting their hefty salaries? Damned good question. Are
they suggesting that future management hiring will be done on the same
basis upon which they wish to treat the rest of the staff, that is to
say as temporaries and casuals? Yeah, right. And to our management/
supervisory colleagues who are members of APS (Association of
Professionals and Supervisors), perhaps they ought to consider how
long the CBC is going to be willing to keep them around doing nothing
while the people they supervise are all on the street. At some point,
our "cost-conscious" leadership is going to figure on saving another
bundle by having their jobs put on standby. Well, not likely. If
nothing else, CBC management takes care of its own.
I do not approve of vulgarity in postings to a group such as this one,
or any other for that matter. But I'm sorry, and at the risk of
offending people I truly respect, I can honestly say that I've never
read so much bullshit as I have when reading the CBC's screeds.
It is up to CBC's listeners and viewers, those that are left, to hound
their MPs in order to pressure the CBC to return to the table with a
mind toward conducting REAL negotiations, and not continue the ersatz
pap of a dictat that they've been spewing so far. I'm going to bed
(Ori Siegel, VA3ORI - VA3XW, Aug 26, ODXA via DXLD)
Sorry for not being on here recently, My dear husband came home from
the hospital today, after having a cancerous brain tumor removed. The
surgeon got it all out but radiation is needed.
Saw the following web site on yahoo.com: http://www.cbcunplugged.com
(Maryanne Kehoe, GA, Aug 27, ODXA via DXLD) Links to lotsa blogs; hope
recovery is swift and complete (Glenn)
** CANADA. CBC Lock-out --- I been reading the comments posted on the
ODXA's group on this topic. I've decided to post my 2 cents worth.
I'm an avid CBC Listener, mainly to CBC 1010 (Calgary) or 100.1 (In
Lethbridge). Every morning I turn the radio on and listen to the
morning news, comments from Calgary, plus the daily weather report.
During the day my radio (at the work site) helps the day go by faster.
And at the [end of the] day, it's Jeff Collins, with his show on the
drive home.
On Saturday's the radio out in the Garage brings the programming from
the early morning to late afternoon with the 50 Tracks, DNTO etc. etc.
Sunday's it's the Vanilla [sic] Cafe, and Cross Country Canada. As for
me, I for one, miss CBC regular programming.
This labor dispute between management and the union is needs to be
settled and quickly. The only people it's hurting is the employees,
the public and the Canadian Broadcasting image.
So tomorrow, I'm calling my local MP (that's Member of Parliament) and
giving him a earful (Edward Kusalik, One Canuck who supports the CBC
as a Public Broadcaster, Aug 27, ODXA via DXLD))
[and non]. I have been reading these with great interest as well and
something has occurred to me as I do so. Can it be merely coincidence
that the BBC, CBC, ABC-Australia, NPR and PBS are all suffering under
the same or similar management-induced difficulties? Am I being too
much the conspiracy-theorist to point out that all of the governments
nominally in charge of things in these nations have been particularly
hostile to media in general (except the very large commercial ones who
contribute mightily to political parties and campaigns) and especially
toward public broadcasting in particular? Just because we're paranoid,
it doesn't mean that they're not out to get us (John Figliozzi, NY,
ibid.)
** CANADA. Re CBC overnight programming now? I could only check the
local R. 1 (90.5 FM) and Moncton 1070. Both were on at 3 a.m. local
time with // soft-rock/pop music, no announcements between songs (Jean
Burnell, NS, Aug 27, MWC via DXLD)
** CANADA. RCI`s best morning frequency, 13655, was AWOL, Sunday Aug
28 at 1330 during an interview with Ken Burns about his film
``Unforgivable Blackness`` on boxer and bon-vivant Jack Johnson.
It was not due to propagation as everything else was normal. I started
listening on noisy 9515 and had to go back there; 17800 was on but
with the usual CCI until 1350. Finally at 1510 recheck, 13655 had come
on (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** CANADA. Letter RE CKEC move to FM
As per CKEC's website http://www.ckec.com 1320 CKEC is looking for
support in its battle against two rimshot broadcast companies [and a
third non-rimshot] who wish to usurp CKEC's wish to flip to what is
apparently the only FM allocation left for their area.
I've copied and pasted my email to CKEC owner Doug Freeman. Doug is
no spring chicken, but is an old time broadcaster of the finest sort.
His son Michael is now GM.
-----Original Message-----
Sent: August 24, 2005 4:27 PM
To: CKEC
Subject: Support for FM application
Attention: Doug Freeman
Dear Mr. Freeman, I am very pleased to have the opportunity to lend my
support to your application for a Class C1 FM license for New Glasgow.
While I now live in Prince Edward Island, I lived in Stellarton and
later New Glasgow, Nova Scotia from 1992 to 1999. I was very impressed
with CKEC and was very pleased to find that CKEC has a superb signal
throughout central and eastern PEI. I remain a regular listener to
CKEC.
I was born and raised in a radio family as my father, the late Bruce
F. Rafuse, worked at CJFX Antigonish from 1953 until his death in
1980, serving first as staff announcer, then Assistant General
Manager commencing in 1961 and then as General Manager commencing in
1970. My father always spoke well of CKEC and in particular, to your
personal commitment to effective community based broadcasting.
I remember very well when CKEC increased its power from 5000 watts to
25,000 watts. This power increase and transmitter site location
transformed CKEC from a modest power local station to a high power
station with strong regional coverage and a solid commitment to the
people of Pictou County and beyond.
While I would prefer that the CRTC amend its policies to permit
permanent simulcasting of AM and FM on a case by case basis for
deserving regional stations with a strong community focus [FM for
local urban coverage and AM for regional rural coverage] as I believe
such a policy would best serve the public interest by providing
quality coverage to rural and urban listeners alike, I believe that
CKEC will continue to serve its listeners in Pictou County [and
hopefully northeastern Nova Scotia and parts of PEI as well] with a
top quality radio service for years to come. As well, I hope that CKEC
will remain locally owned and operated. My only concern is that the
coverage limitations of FM radio may prove to be a challenge for CKEC,
given the well documented loss of coverage experienced by CJFX radio
when it "flipped" from AM to FM which necessitated an additional FM
rebroadcaster as a partial solution. Such loss of coverage was also
experienced by CFNB in 1994 when they too "flipped" from a high power
AM service to FM.
I understand that the CRTC will also be considering applications from
three other broadcasting companies. I will comment on two of these.
With respect to Astral's bid, it is no secret that Astral owned CKTO
and CKTY already have good signals in Pictou County. Indeed, it is my
understanding that these two Truro NS stations sell advertising in
Pictou County already. I believe Astral already has a strong presence
in the Pictou County market and thus their application for a new FM
station for New Glasgow is unnecessary and would be detrimental to
CKEC and in the long term, the people of Pictou County.
With respect to the bid submitted by Atlantic Broadcasters' Limited
[CJFX], I would note that CJFX already has a strong signal in Pictou
County with a strong advertising base now coming from the greater New
Glasgow area. Indeed, CJFX's 3 mv/m contour covers nearly half of
Pictou County and its 0.5 mv/m contour covers all of Pictou County. If
CJFX wishes to operate two radio stations, they should have maintained
their 25 kW state of the art AM Stereo AM operation and added a second
station in Antigonish, on FM, with distinct programming on each
station. They chose not to do so; however it is worth noting that 580
kHz remains available, should CJFX wish to establish a new AM radio
station.
In conclusion, it appears that the 4 applications for an FM station in
New Glasgow are mutually exclusive, all predicated upon one available
frequency, 94.1 MHz. Astral and Atlantic Broadcasters Limited already
have an opportunity to serve Pictou County and their local markets
with their existing facilities. While in a perfect world, I would like
to see CKEC continue to prosper with its powerful AM signal, I
recognize that the presence of CJFX, CKTO, CKTY and to a lesser
extent, CHLQ, CFCY and CHTN Charlottetown, require CKEC to move to FM
in order to allow it to continue to provide the people of Pictou
County and beyond with a strong community based voice.
I look forward to CKEC receiving a Class C1 FM license and I look
forward to being able to continue to listen to your station here in
PEI. Regards and best wishes, (Philip J. Rafuse, 5 Stewart Avenue,
Stratford PE C1B 1B1, Aug 25, via ABDX via DXLD)
** CHINA [and non]. Firedrake on 11805, Aug 27 at 1413 consisted of so
much higher-frequency music and percussion, that it was inescapable 5
kHz away on RHC 11800 in Spanish, even by tuning to the lower side of
that frequency. Commies vs Commies! (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING
DIGEST)
** CHINA [non]. Re. ``Frequency change for China Radio International
in Bulgarian: 2030-2057 NF 9720 KAS 500 kW / 308 degrees, ex 6145 ISS
500 kW / 098 deg \\ 7160 (Observer, Bulgaria, Aug 26 via DXLD)``
--- Actually the Issoudun 6145 transmission still exists, just
confirmed until 2057 cut-off with extremely strong signal and
programming (not // 9720) in a Slavic language I unfortunately cannot
further specify. The audio was no longer of the telephone quality that
used to be typical for the CRI relays via European shortwave sites
(Kai Ludwig, Germany, Aug 27, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** COLOMBIA. Marfil Estéreo, 5909.98, 0015-0115+ Aug 21, Spanish talk,
ID, ranchera music. Good; irregular, not heard every night (Brian
Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) see MEXICO
** CUBA. We've run across a number of instances previously where one
network is carried during the overnight by stations which broadcast
another during the day. I think we could get into a situation where
we're chasing our tails if we work within the mindset that any
specific Cuban outlet carries only one program. The same is getting to
be true with multiple transmitters in different parts of the island
now occupying the same [MW] frequency.
I no longer assign much credibility to published powers and locations
for Cuban transmitters, and with multiple programs on the same station
or even multiple stations on the same frequency makes it tougher.
Any Cubans I hear anymore aren't even counted as new in the log unless
I haven't heard one on that frequency ever before. Otherwise I can't
presume it's a different station unless I hear two different programs
on the same frequency at once (Russ Edmunds, Blue Bell, PA (15 mi NNW
Philadelphia), NRC-AM via DXLD)
** CUBA. Arnie Coro already in progress with DXers Unlimited, Sat Aug
27 at 2105 tune-in on 11760; I then found it was an echo behind //
9505 which was much weaker. So there must be two transmitter sites
and/or program feed routes/methods involved. It was over at 2114:30
which means that if it is about 17 minutes long, it must have started
as early as 2057, the first airing (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING
DIGEST) See Also CHINA; VENEZUELA
** EQUATORIAL GUINEA. R. Nacional, Bata, 5005, 2215-2258* Aug 19,
Spanish talk, Afro-pops, hi-life music. 2255 ``Radio Bata`` ID, and
lengthy NA; fair (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING
DIGEST)
** ETHIOPIA. R. Ethiopia, 7110, *0259-0315+ Aug 21, IS, 0300 talk in
vernacular; 0305 Horn of Africa music. Weak-poor; // 9704.18 weak
(Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** FINLAND. YLE Radio Finland had some nice Finnish choral sacred
music around 1345 Sunday Aug 28 on 15400; I retuned at 1358, just in
time to hear a few words of Nuntii Latini, as the transmitter cut off
well before this weekly 5-minute feature was over! Does it always go
off at 1358? Pori needs to get coördinated with Helsinki (Glenn
Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** GERMANY. 6045 kHz, Hamburger Lokalradio (Relay via Jülich, in July
2005), detailed computer generated QSL-card with personal notes
(including transmitter site), card shows the address and the telephone
number, no v/s. Also contained a sticker and a personal letter from
Michael Kittner, Stationsleiter. In 25 days for a report in German
with 1 EUR in German stamps to Hamburger Lokalradio, Kulturzentrum
LOLA, D-21031 Hamburg Schoech, Germany, August 2005, GRDXC via DXLD)
See also LATVIA
** GERMANY. Meanwhile an audio file of the 1485 kHz DRM transmission
at Berlin has been posted at
http://www.drmrx.org/forum/showthread.php?s=7ae834522c9553391ea6490a30d5de74&threadid=1151
Sounds very strange, with most of the original audio missing. The
``RADIO 1`` label discussed in the DRM forum is just identical to the
RDS-PS on FM, so not so much a surprise.
Re WRN English on the Berlin cable net: Do they have a contract with
Kabel Deutschland? This could be decisive here, since Kabel
Deutschland recently removed the relay of FM 106.8 from the Berlin
cable net after Radio Teddy did not conclude a service contract with
them (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Aug 27, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** GREECE. During the entire 0000-0400 UT period to North America last
night, Avlis 3 on 9420 again was silent; although 7475 was doing great
with fair reception from 5865. I can't get anything out of the 9420
frequency during the rest of the day either. I tried other
frequencies, but nothing there either. I'm beginning to believe that
the problem is with the transmitter (JOHN BABBIS, Silver Spring, MD,
USA, Aug 27, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
During the entire 0000-0400 UT period to North America last night,
Avlis 3 on 9420 again was silent; although 7475 was doing great with
fair reception from 5865 (John Babbis, Aug 28, ibid.)
** GUINEA. TEXT OF DECREE PERMITTING PRIVATE BROADCASTERS | Text of
report by Guineenews website on 23 August
Here is the full text of the presidential decree signed by the Guinean
president, Gen Lansana Conte, on the liberalization of the airwaves in
the republic of Guinea as was read on the radio on Saturday 20 August,
2005.
Office of the President of the Republic
General Secretariat of the Government
Republic of Guinea Work-Justice-Solidarity
Decree 037D/2005/PRG/SGG on the conditions for the establishment and
operation of radio and television stations in the Republic of Guinea.
The President of the Republic
In view of the constitution in its Articles 7, 21, 22;
In view of Law No 91/05/ CTRN of 23 December 1991 on the freedom of
the press, radio, television and communication generally;
In view of Law No 91/06/CTRN of 23 December 1991 on the establishment
of the National Council on Communication;
In view of Law No 95/018/CTRN of 18 May 1995 on regulating radio
communications in the Republic of Guinea;
In view of Decrees No D/2004/010/PRG/SGG of 23 February 2004, No
D/2004/017/PRG/SGG of 1 March 2004 and No D/2004/019/PRG/SGG of 8
March 2004 on the appointment of cabinet members;
In view of Decree No D/2004/081/PRG/SGG of 9 December 2004 on the
appointment of a prime minister
Decrees:
Article 1: Every Guinean citizen enjoying his civic rights or every
moral person of Guinean rights with the exception of political parties
and religious organizations can establish, own, operate a private
radio broadcasting station and or television broadcasting station in
Guinea, within the respect of the legislative measures and regulations
in force.
Article 2 : Private radio broadcasting station and television
broadcasting station are meant to be understood in terms of the
current decree as any station with a share capital owned in the
majority by physical or moral persons with private rights and of which
the broadcasts transmitted through the airwaves, cable or all other
means are intended to be received directly by the public.
Article 3: Private radio and television broadcasting stations are
classified into two categories: commercial stations; community
stations.
Article 4: No private radio and television broadcasting station must
directly or indirectly identify itself with any political party,
religion, a region or an ethnic group. It must ensure that the
broadcasts respect the dignity of the human person and the need for
national unity and public order.
Article 5: Nobody can own more than one radio broadcasting station
and/or television broadcasting station at a time.
Article 6: With the reserve of the benefit of an international pledge
undertaken by the Republic of Guinea and comprising either a clause of
assimilation to the national, or a clause of reciprocity in the area
of the audiovisual, no foreigner can own directly or indirectly over
30 per cent of the share capital or voting rights in the audiovisual
industry.
Article 7 : The permit for the establishment and operation of a
private radio and television broadcasting station shall be issued by
the Ministry of Information, on the advice of the National Council on
Communication.
Article 8: The National Council on Communication shall exercise over
these private radio or television broadcasting stations: a general
right of control over their programmes; a right of protection and
promotion of free, exact and complete information.
Article 9 : The private radio and television broadcasting stations can
be asked to perform under the same conditions as the public media
general interest services defined by the decision of the National
Council on Communication.
Article 10: The private radio and television broadcasting stations can
receive subventions from the state as well as from non-governmental
organizations, NGOs. No private radio broadcasting station or
television broadcasting station can directly or indirectly receive aid
from a foreign country without prior permission from the government.
Article 11: Foreign radio and television broadcasting stations wishing
to establish themselves in the Republic of Guinea shall sign an
agreement for establishment with the Ministry of Information, acting
on behalf of the government.
Article 12: The allocation of frequencies, their management and
control are under the control of the Ministry of Telecommunications.
Article 13: The National Council on Communication can take, for the
benefit of conserving, measures for the suspension of a radio or
television broadcasting station for a period of seventy-two (72) hours
or more in the event of an offence against the internal or external
security of the state without running the risk of being pursued in
court. The suspension and withdrawal of the permit are actionable
before the Supreme Court in the event of the abuse of power.
Article 14: A decree by the Ministry of Information shall spell out
the procedures for the issuance of the permits.
Article 15: The regulation of the annual licence fees and the tax
applicable to the private radio or television broadcasting stations
are fixed by a joint decree of the Ministries of Information and
Telecommunications.
Article 16: The Ministry of Information, Ministry of
Telecommunications, Ministry of Economy and Finances and the Ministry
of Territorial Administration and Decentralization are charged, each
in what concerns it with the application of the current decree.
Article 17: The current decree, which takes effect from the date of
its signature, shall be registered and published in the official
gazette of the republic. Conakry, 20 August 2005 Gen Lansana Conte.
Source: Guineenews website in French 23 Aug 05 (via BBCM via DXLD)
** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. And now for something a little bit different.
I am listing where to find other nations on satellite. I am sure there
could be a different format for doing this, but this is a first try. I
am only listing those nations that can be seen in the clear - e.g. -
not encrypted and are generally only on an MPEG2 system. Contact me
for specific frequency details or use internet to get Lyngsat or
others. Abbrs used = IA - Intelsat Americas, T5 - Telstar 5 which is
now called Intelsat Americas 5. Most all of these services are on Ku
Band. Well - here goes ---
Albania - US originated? - IA5 Ku transponder 14
Algeria - IA5 XPDR 8
Armenia - US originated? - IA5 - XPDR 26
China, PR - several services on PAS 9 C Band XPDR 10
Colombia - several services in 4DTV on NSS at 40 West
Croatia - IA5 - XPDR KU 24
Cuba - PAS 9 - XPDR 8C
Ecuador - Satmex 5 - XPDR 5 C
Germany - PAS 9 - XPDR 16C
Iran - IA5 - XPDR KU4
Iraq - IA 5 - Ku 25
Israel - IA5 - Ku
Italy - PAS 9 - Ku 3 also PAS 9 C21
Japan - PAS 9 - XPDR 18C
Jordan - IA5 - XPDR Ku 11
Korea, S - PAS 9 XPDR 10C
Kuwait - IA5 - XPDR 15 Ku
Lebanon - PAS 9 - XPDR 21C
Macedonia - IA5 - XPDR Ku 14
Mexico - Satmex 5 also IA 805C
Myanmar (Burma) - IA5 - XPDR 14 Ku
Malaysia - IA 5 - XPDR Ku 7 Amrita TV
Netherlands - IA5 - XPDR Ku 11
Oman - IA5 - XPDR Ku 25
Peru - IA805 C
Poland - IA 805C
Portugal - PAS9 - XPDR 16C
Qatar - IA5 - XPDR Ku25
Romania - IA5 - XPDR Ku 7
Russia - Telstar at 37 West - Ku
Saudi Arabia - IA5
Spain - see Hisposat at 30 West
Sudan - IA5 XPDR Ku 25
Syria - IA5 - XPDR Ku 25
Taiwan China - many originate from US except Buddhist TV IA5 - XPDR
Ku23
Thailand - IA5 - XPDR Ku 14
Tunisia - IA5 - XPDR Ku4
Turkey - IA5 - XPDR Ku 14
Ukraine - IA5 - XPDR Ku 14
United Arab Emirates - IA 5 - XPDR Ku 25
(includes Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, etc.)
Uruguay - NSS 40 West C Band
Vatican City (or Italy) - Telepace - IA5 -
XPDR Ku 11
Venezuela - NSS 40 West -
Vietnam - IA5 - XPDR Ku 14 (they actually have a Vietnamese version of
"Wheel Of Fortune")
Yemen - IA5 - XPDR Ku 25
That's all for now - Many other countries are up there, but are either
encrypted or in another color system (e.g. PAL or SECAM). Suggestions
and questions are welcome on this effort) See you in 30. "73"s and
Good DX (GEORGE W. JENSEN, Baltimore, MD, SCISATMAN @ AOL.COM
SATELLITE NEWS, Sept WTFDA VHF-UHF Digest via DXLD) TeleSur: v. MEXICO
** INTERNATIONAL WATERS [non]. PIRATES RETURN TO THEIR FORTRESS
The annual Radio Essex reunion is this year not being held in a West
London restaurant, but in the Thames Estuary aboard the mororised
sailing barge 'Greta' this coming Tuesday. Radio Essex, owned by
Southend businessman Roy Bates broadcast from a WW2 offshore naval
fort called Knock John from October 1965 until December the following
year. It is hoped to sail around each of the three forts used for
pirate broadcasting during the 1960's while taking photos, listening
to recordings and chatting about those exciting bygone piratical days.
Though the life of this station was rather short and it's field of
reception fairly small, the people involved with the station have
remained in touch. David Sinclair, who now lives in Canada, is coming
over for the event. The weather forecast, if it can be believed, is
for a sunny day with a force 4 breeze.
The maximum number of passengers on the Greta is limited to 12, so
extra guests cannot be included. If anyone fancies a Thames boat
trip in this wonderfully restored vessel visit
http://www.thamesbarges.co.uk --- the boat's history is interesting
(Andy Cadier, Aug 27, BDXC-UK via DXLD)
** INTERNATIONAL WATERS [and non]. Hurricane Katrina info is now under
U S A
** JAPAN. HISTORY OF RADIO JAPAN (NHK)
NHK began radio broadcasting on June 1, 1935 to the east coast of
North America and Hawaii using a 20 kW shortwave transmitter. Then the
call sign was 'Radio Tokyo' which used to broadcast daily one hour of
Japanese and English programs which consisted of music and various
performance shows. During the Second World War Radio Tokyo increased
the language broadcasts to twenty-four and new 30 kW transmitters were
put into service. The one hour English service was increased to five
broadcast hours per day. Japanese and American English program hosts
were introduced after the Second World War. Radio Tokyo changed its
call sign to Radio Japan.
During 1959 the international broadcasts were increased to six hours
and repeated ten times a day. Regional language broadcasts were
introduced in various languages including Korean, Swedish, Russian,
Chinese etc. Also 3 x 100 kW, 2 x 50 kW and 2 x 20 kW shortwave
transmitters were commissioned into service.
During the 1960's huge economic growth took place in Japan. Coal
replaced oil and the economy flourished. In 1964, 28 countries and 24
organisations from Asia formed the Asian Broadcasting Union (ABU) at
Tokyo. An essay contest was conducted by Radio Japan during this
occasion and five winners were invited to visit Japan. 1964 also saw
the Tokyo Olympics being held in Japan. During the 1970 World Expo, in
which 77 countries participated, was held in Japan and 100 hours of
program relay went on air from Radio Japan.
In 1984 the transmission facilities of Radio Japan expanded. During
the period of the Cold War Olympics were held at Moscow in 1980 and at
Los Ángeles in 1984. Radio Japan covered both Olympics extensively.
NHK World relayed its programmes for the first time from Moyabi
(Gabon). During 1988 the Yamata Transmitting Station was inaugurated
with 4 x 300 kW, 4 x 100 kW transmitters and 17 directional antennae,
The introduction of new transmitting station and relay services
brought letters and reception reports from listeners in all corners of
the world. Radio Japan/NHK received 60,000 letters from 160 countries
around the globe. 1990's also saw the fall of the Iron Curtain and the
end of the Cold War. New programming and change of program aspects
also took place at NHK.
Now NHK broadcasts to the world through shortwave, satellite and
internet. Radio Japan relays its programs from nine relay stations in
the U.K., Ascension Islands, Gabon, UAE, Singapore, Canada, French
Guyana and Netherlands Antilles. The new multimedia platform helps
listeners to listen to programs from the archives, if they miss the
shortwave service. During its 70th anniversary Radio Japan is looking
to the broadcast years to come.
Compiled by T. R. Rajeesh VU3PIK with excerpts from 70th Anniversary
Hello from Tokyo Show in January 2005 (Report from India, Sept World
DX Club Contact via DXLD)
** LATVIA. Last night at 2315 UT heard Radio Caroline on 1350 kHz with
a strong signal. Audio was distorted (overmod? clipping optimod?) and
it suffered fading and some interference. I presume this is Latvia,
though I've not seen other reports of this yet. 73s (Steve Whitt, UK,
Aug 27, MWC via DXLD)
I've heard Radio Caroline via Radio Tatras Int'l (RTI) on 1350 Latvia
on several occasions during night time over the past couple of weeks,
so I guess this is a regular thing. Reception of RTI here in Denmark
is extremely good evenings and during night time. SINPO: 55555 or very
close to that - when using my K9AY. The signal is very stable and the
interference from other stations is very close to nil. I haven't
noticed any problems here with the audio. Best 73s (Stig Hartvig
Nielsen, ibid.)
** LATVIA. QSL report: 9290 kHz, ARDXC (Relay via Ulbroka), detailed
computer generated QSL-card with personal notes (including transmitter
site), card shows the symbol of the ARDXC in green, v/s John Wright.
Also contained the Australian DX News - August 2005. In 63 days for a
report in English with 2 USD to ARDXC, c/o John Wright, 29 Milford Rd,
Peakhurst NSW 2210, Australia.
LATVIA - 9290 kHz, Hamburger Lokalradio (Relay via Ulbroka, in January
2005), detailed computer generated QSL-card with personal notes
(including transmitter site), card shows the address and the telephone
number, no v/s. Also contained a sticker and a personal letter from
Michael Kittner, Stationsleiter. In 25 days for a report in German
with 1 EUR in German stamps to Hamburger Lokalradio, Kulturzentrum
LOLA, D-21031 Hamburg (M. Schoech, Germany, August 2005, GRDXC via
DXLD) see also GERMANY
** LIBERIA [non]. Star Radio, 11965 via Ascension, *2101-2200* Aug 19,
sign-on with local tribal group singing ``Star Radio`` jingle. 2102
opening ID announcements, English news. 2108 & 2111 IDs. 2112 sports
news; 2131 ``Messages`` program. Good signal.
Star Radio, 9525 via Ascension, 0845-0859* Aug 20, tune-in to
interviews with local people riding a train; IDs. 0853 into vernacular
talk. 0858 back to English with ID and Star Radio jingle to sign-off;
fair-good (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** LIBYA [non]. V. of Africa, via France, 7320, 0222-0225 Aug 20,
brief English segment with ID and news headlines; good (Brian
Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** MEXICO. XEOI, R. Mil, dominating 6010, Aug 27 around 0556;
Conciencia may have been off, and nothing on 5910 either. There was
still a slight het on 6010 from something. Mil gave a full ID
mentioning the SW frequency and 50 kW in such a way that it sounded
like they were claiming that power on SW, not just for MW 1000, but
I`d have to listen again carefully to be sure (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX
LISTENING DIGEST)
** MEXICO. TELESUR MAY SOON BE ON CABLE TV SYSTEMS IN MEXICO
Mexican viewers may soon be able to watch Telesur, the TV station
backed by Venezuela's government, according to the network's general
director Aram Aharonian. He said Telesur is negotiating with Mexican
cable networks to make the channel available in a few weeks, first to
viewers in Mexico City, then across the country. Aharonian also said
that plans to expand Telesur to the United Kingdom, the Middle East,
Russia, Spain and Italy are also in the works. Telesur, launched last
month, is regarded by the US administration as a mouthpiece for
Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, and Congress has already approved a
budget for US broadcasts to Venezuela as a countermeasure.
# posted by Andy @ 09:37 UT Aug 27 (Media Network blog via DXLD)
** MYANMAR. [Re 5-145:] BURMA ACCUSES BBC OF "INCITING UNREST" WITH
COUP REPORT - Xinhua | Text of report in English by official Chinese
news agency Xinhua (New China News Agency)
Yangon [Rangoon], 28 August: The Myanmar [Burma] government formally
denied Sunday for the first time that a coup had taken place during
the past week, saying that Chairman of the State Peace and Development
Council (SPDC) Sr-Gen Than Shwe still remained in post and in good
health. "Head of State Sr-Gen Than Shwe is discharging the state
responsibilities with very good health," Kyaw Hsan, who is minister of
information, stressed at special press conference here, refuting a
news report of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) on 23
August, which said there was a change in Myanmar's top leadership.
"Based on BBC's false news, other media broadcast slanderous and
instigative news which were absolutely untrue," he said, blaming the
BBC for the responsibility for broadcasting the fabricated news
purposely. Kyaw Hsan reiterated that the present government is
continuing to take charge of the state duties with the leadership of
Than Shwe and collective responsibility and coordination of SPDC Vice-
Chairman Vice Sr-Gen Maung Aye and SPDC members. He also blamed BBC's
broadcast for encroaching on the state stability and national
solidarity, creating public panic, misleading people and inciting
unrest to deal a devastating blow to the nation by means of the unrest
to anarchy. Source: Xinhua news agency, Beijing, in English 0733 gmt
28 Aug 05 (via BBCM via DXLD)
** NIGERIA [non]. Don`t you believe that the new gospel huxter service
for here will be on 5500 kHz, as mentioned on this week`s DXing With
Cumbre, heard at 0511 UT Aug 28 on 9510. As we already explained here,
that was supposed to be 5050, and the station is actually WWRB,
apparently still not yet started, nor on 15250 in the daytime (Glenn
Hauser, OK, Aug 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** OKLAHOMA. Dart: to the Daily Disappointment for not covering the
public protest at OKC`s KHBZ-AM for condoning domestic violence. The
bigoted host writes a column for the Disappointment`s tabloid!
Dart: to Tulsa radio station KFAQ (1170 AM) for biased commentary and
guests calling for closing America`s public schools. Hosts are Michael
DelGiorno and Gwen Freeman. If public education is a failure, they are
exhibit A (Frosty Troy, Observerscope, Oklahoma Observer Aug 25 via
DXLD)
It started on the airwaves, but now a dispute between a Tulsa City
Councilor and popular morning radio host could be headed for a
courtroom. City Councilor Bill Christiansen is suing Michael DelGiorno
and his radio station, KFAQ for defamation and emotional distress. . .
http://www.kotv.com/main/home/stories.asp?whichpage=1&id=88243
(via The Insultant, Aug 18, Radio-Info OK board via DXLD)
** OKLAHOMA. What`s going on in OKC? On Sunday morning, Aug 28, at
least two channels were broadcasting dead air/black screen! KWTV-9 was
doing so for three or four minutes around 1430 UT, perhaps a foulup in
the unnecessary 30-minute tape(?) delay they impose on CBS Sunday
Morning --- like getting the last tape rewound and cued; and an hour
later, KOCO-5 had a sesquiminute of black at 1530 and then instead of
This Week from ABC, they ran a 1992y infomercial sponsored by mining
companies, followed at 1557 by another sponsored by Caterpillar on
agriculture, ``America`s Most Crucial Industry``! This Week should
have been recorded an hour earlier from network. Maybe the summer
interns are in charge, getting OJT at viewers` expense. Then at 1600
played Rebecca`s Garden. Any explanation of this on the website,
http://www.channeloklahoma.com ? Of course not; and posted schedule
still shows This Week (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** OMAN. R. Sultanate of Oman, 15140, *1400-1500 Aug 20; 1400 English
news; IDs, pop music, techno-pop dance music; 1500 into Arabic. Weak
but in the clear; improved to fair level by 1445 (Brian Alexander,
Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
Techno-pop dance music?! No features about Omani culture? What`s the
point of doing an hour in English, then? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX
LISTENING DIGEST)
I presume this is a relay of the domestic English language network
(throughout Oman on FM, cf. WRTH page 303) and not a program produced
for listeners abroad. Same pattern like in the English SW
transmissions from some other Arabic countries, like Jordan. 73,
(Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)
Hi! Yes, indeed it is a relay of Oman's "Radio 2" which also can be
heard on the digital Hotbird satellite. You can also hear their
English FM program via their web site:
http://www.oman-tv.gov.om/rdeng/default.asp
You might compare it with 15140 kHz at 14 UT. 73, (Erik Køie in
Copenhagen, ibid.)
Hi, R. Sultanate of Oman on 15140, it's heard in Japan just now, with
very weak signal. Thank you for your suggestion (TOKUSA Hiroshi,
Kawasaki, Kanagawa, JAPAN, ibid.)
15140, 1400-, Radio Sultanate of Oman, Aug 28. Fair reception at sign-
on with a time check of 6:00 PM and ID as Radio Sultanate of Oman.
Signal dramatically improved to at least an S7 with very nice western
EZL music when I tuned away at 1425. Glad to see them back! A nice
opportunity to try my various receivers. I preferred the audio in the
following order: Ten Tec 340, Collins HF-2050, Icom 756 Pro2, AOR
7030+, and finally my 'lowly' JRC 535D! (Walt Salmaniw, Victoria, BC,
dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) TG for a source of EZL music! (gh)
** PERU. 2950, Radio Illucan [sic], 1450 kHz por 2, 2 armónico, UT
2350, sinpo 24232, Cajamarca - Cutervo, transmisión musical, 00.00+
avisos por OM (emisora full propagandas) OM ID "Radio Illucan,
Voz de Cutervo para todo el Perú" sigue música soft, 21 agosto, EWE
(Héctor Álvaro Gutiérrez, Lima Sur, Perú, Conexión Digital via DXLD)
** RUSSIA. Voice of Russia What`s New
http://www.vor.ru/English/Exclusives/what_new.html
MUSICAL TALES (on the air as of Tuesday, August 30th) Romance is
probably the most popular music genre of the 19th - beginning of the
20th centuries. All the Russian composers of the time created these
little music novellas. Many of these love songs were written to the
verse of the great Russian poet Alexander Pushkin. The best of them
will be featured in the next edition of MUSICAL TALES weekly program.
Tune in to MUSICAL TALES on Tuesday at 03.00, Wednesday 02.30 and
20.30, Thursday 01.30 and 17.30, Saturday 06.00 and 16.00, Sunday
04.00 and 18.00 and Monday at 04.00 UT.
RUSSIA: PEOPLE AND EVENTS (on the air as of Monday, August 29th). On
a busy square in the center of Moscow, placed on a high pedestal
stands a bronze statue to the great Russian poet Alexander Pushkin.
This is one of the most beautiful and admired monuments in the city.
Few people, however, know about its creator, the talented Russian
sculptor Alexander Opekushin. Our next edition of RUSSIA: PEOPLE AND
EVENTS weekly program is devoted to this artist. Tune in to our
programs for RUSSIA: PEOPLE AND EVENTS on Monday and Wednesday at
20.30, Thursday at 01.30 and 17.30, Friday at 15.30, and Sunday at
02.30 and 07.30 UT. You can read the text version of the program on
our Web site at http://www.vor.ru/Events/personalities.html
THE CHRISTIAN MESSAGE FROM MOSCOW (on the air on Saturday, August 27
and Sunday, August 28). In the next edition of The Christian Message
from Moscow we will offer you the monologue of a nun, Paraskeva, from
the Holy Assumption Convent in the town of Vladimir, some 190
kilometers to the North-East of Moscow. It was featured on the TVC
channel of Moscow television. We believe this story will be of
interest to you. Tune in to our broadcasts for The Christian Message
from Moscow on Saturday at 01.30, 05.30, 08.30, 15.30 and 19.30 and
Sunday at 18.30 UT [If times are on the hour, add 11 minutes; if on
the half hour, add one sesquiminute.] (via John Norfolk, dxldyg via
DXLD)
** RUSSIA. (Asiatic RSFSR), 12065, Bible Voice Broadcasting (via
Khabarovsk), 5890 (via Vladivostok), full data Globe Reaching Nations
card with schedule in 72 days. Report mailed to UK, but reply came
from this address: P. O. Box 1160, Mount Albert, Ontario, LOG 1MO
((Edward Kusalik, Alberta, CANADA, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** RUSSIA [and non]. RUSSIA/GERMANY 15430, Radiokanal Sodruzhestvo
(via Juelich, Germany), 15 Aug, 1444, rather strong (43443) and making
interference to the Russian service of DW on 15425 (Signal No.149 -
Dmitry Mezin, Kazan, Russia via DXLD)
But the handbook "Broadcasting in Russian" lists Russian International
Radio on this frequency. And, if I remember correctly, I heard RIR a
while ago myself on 15430. Of course, I realize that it's hard to
distinguish these two stations - broadcasting style is similar, though
there is more music on RIR (Signal No.149 - open_dx - Alexander
Yegorov, Kyiv, Ukraine)
No RIR but Sodruzhestvo during my subsequent checks. Parallel
frequencies: 11830 kHz with fair signal, and fair-poor 7370, 9800,
9920 kHz. Best audio is on 15430 kHz, but DW from 15425 kHz causes
considerable splash. Not the best frequency coordination (Dmitry
Mezin, Kazan, Russia, Signal via DXLD)
** SUDAN. Re 5-147: Also some FM stations planned to air US funded
programs. From: http://www.sol-sd.com/politics/t10-8-1.htm
-------
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
U.S. EMBASSY-KHARTOUM RE SIGNING OF AGREEMENT WITH SRTC
U.S. Embassy-Khartoum, August 10, 2005- The U.S. Chargé d'Affaires to
Sudan, Ambassador John W. Limbert, signed today with the Sudan Radio
and Television Corporation (SRTC) a LETTER OF INTENT for future
coöperation in radio broadcasting.
The intent of the parties is to enter into an agreement for the United
States Government to fund the SRTC's purchase, installation,
operation, and maintenance of up to twelve (12) frequency modulation
(FM) transmitting stations intended for the exclusive broadcast of USG
funded radio programming.
The Head of Sudan Radio and Television Corporation, Dr. Amin Hassan
Omer, signed on behalf of the Government of Sudan, and the American
Charge Limbert signed on behalf of the United States Government (via
Jari Savolainen, Finland, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. NOW SHOWING: THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY AMERICANS
--- EXPORTING THE WRONG PICTURE
By Martha Bayles, Sunday, August 28, 2005; Page B01
"But what benefit is there in Radio Sawa's heavy rotation of songs by
sex kitten Britney Spears and foul-mouthed rapper Eminem?" . . .
http://tinyurl.com/a2q5f (via Andy Sennitt, dxldyg via DXLD)
Must read: re VOA, USIA, etc. See also SUDAN just above
** U S A [non]. USA/RUSSIA. 11510, WYFR (via Armavir/Krasnodar), 15
Aug, 1425, in Urdu or Hindi, religious songs and announcements, 54444.
Bulgarian DXers discovered this new frequency in May, but at that time
it carried Pashto/Dari broadcast at 1400-1500. On the contrary, I
clearly heard "Khamchatke program..." when the song ended - it points
to an Indian group language. Needs further monitoring (Signal No. 149
- Dmitry Mezin, Kazan, Russia)
Not clear yet. Transmitter doesn't switch on at exactly 1400, and
there were no announcements at 1430 during my new checks. Transmission
is not parallel to 7510 kHz with WYFR either in Urdu (as ILGRadio
states), or in Bengali (according to WYFR Web site). And I don't hear
scheduled WYFR transmission in Hindi on 15520 kHz - so nothing to
compare with. At 1458 on 27 Aug WYFR address in Oakland, California
was given - but no local address followed, so the language is still a
puzzle (Dmitry Mezin, Kazan, Russia, Signal Aug 27 via DXLD)
** U S A. Re Katrina: Glenn: I think the transmitter was on at 0500,
but we lost the audio feed. Everything is OK at the transmitter site
now, but we have had various problems with power outages, phone lines
out and DSL lines out at the transmitter, office and my house. I still
have no phone or DSL at home. I hope things will be back to normal
over the weekend, although Bell South isn't promising anything till
Tuesday evening (Jeff White, WRMI, Aug 27, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I see
the WRMI website is still stuck in April, but we recently had their
complete new schedule in DXLD. WOR barely audible Sat 2100+, 7385 (gh)
** U S A. New Orleans Media --- Anyone know what the plans are for
media in New Orleans? I'm guessing someone may have to leave their
studios, or is everyone able to remain in their home base? Thank You
for your time, (Glen Briggs - KBØRPJ, Grundy County Amateur Radio
Emergency Services Coordinator, http://grundy.ares-mo.org/ - North
Central Missouri Amateur Radio Club, amfmtvdx at qth.net via DXLD)
And how far below sea level is the WWL 870 transmitter site? If this
info is not in the FCC database, why not? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX
LISTENING DIGEST)
Hi Glenn, That's a Scott Fybush question if I ever heard one. I'm not
sure if he's even on this list. Anyway, I've turned up some archival
photography that makes me wonder about it too:
http://members.tripod.com/broadcastmuseum/wwl1.html
I hope they've moved the site since then (Curtis Sadowski, WTFDA-AM
via DXLD) Including:
The Hurricane of 1947 [illustrated]
A newpaper story reports that the Chief Engineer of WWL was in danger
of drowning as he tried to reach the flooded WWL transmitter site in
Kenner at the lakefront. J. D. Bloom is shown in the picture below as
he perched for 9 hours on the hood of a truck that stalled in the high
water on Williamson Ave. near the lakefront. Pictured below are views
of the WWL tower site, transmitter building and downed power lines in
the rising waters of "Lake WWL" in Kenner near the edge of Lake
Pontchartrain (via Sadowski, ibid.)
The WWL Transmitter is located at 29 50' 14" N, 90 07' 55" W, about
8 miles south of downtown New Orleans on the Eastern edge of the
Barataria Preserve of Jean Lafitte National Historical Park, just off
Highway 45, Barataria Boulevard. Much of the Preserve is marshland and
swampland. According to
http://gorp.away.com/gorp/resource/us_nhp/la/hik_bata.htm
the HIGHEST point in the preserve is five feet above sea level.
Regards, (Fred Laun, K3ZO, ibid.)
WWL TV in New Orleans is live streaming at: http://www.wwltv.com
Have yet to locate any news or info radio stations streaming out of
the region so far. Still looking (Sheldon Harvey, QC, 1724 UT Aug 28,
dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)
Layla Morcos of WWL (AM) did a report on MSNBC around 1850 UT,
concluding with the station`s own situation. Studios are in a high-
rise downtown, and I think she said they have another location
(presumably studio) they can broadcast from if needed, but they don`t
expect their towers to survive 200 mph winds.
Also monitor the Radio-Info Louisiana board
http://www.radio-info.com/mods/posts?Board-louisiana
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
Sunday, August 28, 2005 --- As of 7:00 a.m. CDT – 1200 UTC, Hurricane
Katrina, now an unbelievable Category 5 Hurricane packing sustained
winds of 160 mph.
The Hurricane Watch Net will activate Sunday afternoon at 2:00 p.m.
CDT - 1900 UTC on 14.325 MHz. Our mission on Sunday afternoon and
evening will be to accumulate a list of stations in the affected area
who can be available, primarily with measured weather data beginning
at 8:00 a.m. CDT – 1300 UTC on Monday morning.
In the meantime, we request all interested parties to maintain a close
watch on all storm related data made available here on our web site,
http://www.hwn.org
As usual, during any net activation, we encourage all mariners and
residents in and around affect area to please come to net frequency
(14.325 MHz) for all the latest information and for the purpose of
providing reports of conditions in your area. Please help to spread
the word to people in the affected area while also requesting any
available reporting stations in the area to please come to net
frequency (14.325 MHz) with their observed and/or measured weather
data.
Any update to this plan will be announced as necessary.
We will be requesting measured/observed ground truth data from the
affected area. Under direction of the National Hurricane Center, those
may be solicited from specific locations and/or with specific
criterion attached (such as people experiencing sustained winds in
excess of 35 knots, or those with rapidly degrading conditions, etc.).
Temperature and dew point information is not needed. We remind those
reporting stations to "please" do not report to us the weather
information reported by your local media. We are interested ONLY in
your personal observations, preferably measured by calibrated
instrumentation.
Note: The above criteria may be changed without notice.
Throughout this event, we remind everyone that we are also available
to provide backup communications facilities to official agencies such
as Emergency Operations Centers and Red Cross officials in the
affected area. We will also be interested to collect and report
significant damage assessment data back to FEMA officials stationed in
the National Hurricane Center.
Please honor our request that you should not check in to the net
unless specifically requested to do so. We will attempt to handle all
communications within the capabilities of our own members, and only
when required assistance is needed will we ask for your help.
While our mission is specifically to provide storm related information
into and out of the storm, please understand we are not involved in
Health and Welfare traffic. That traffic will be handled by the SATERN
net on 14.265.00 MHz, whenever activated, as well as on their website
of http://www.satern.org On the SATERN homepage, you will find a link
for Health and Welfare Information. Fill out that form and they will
get back with you as soon as possible. We will likely be reporting
other emergency frequencies to be set up by local emergency management
nets in the affected area. Please monitor 14.325.00 MHz for that
information as it is made available.
As a final reminder, please monitor this web site for storm related
advisory updates, graphics displays, and other data made available
from the National Hurricane Center. Thanks in advance for your support
and cooperation during this extremely dangerous storm.
Sincerely, Bobby Graves - KB5HAV, Assistant Net Manager Hurricane
Watch Net (HWN activation page via gh, John Norfolk, DXLD)
** U S A. Some HF amateur emergency frequencies (in kHz) from
http://www.w4uvh.net/nets2you.html
Louisiana Traffic Net 3910
Louisiana ARES Net 3973
Southwest Traffic Net 3935
Mississippi Phone Net 3862 or 3862.5
Alabama Traffic Net & Emergency Net 3965
Region 5 Traffic Net 7280
Mercury Amateur Radio Association 3872.5
Gulf Coast Hurricane 3845 3873 3925 3935 7225 7235 7245 7260 7290
Hurricane frequencies by Bill Snyder:
http://www.hurricanefrequencies.com
(via John Norfolk, dxldyg via DXLD)
** U S A. KUT may be off the air in Austin for up to 10 hours on
Sunday, August 28th beginning at around 9 a.m. [CDT = 1400 UT] We will
be making tower and transmitter upgrades ahead of our upcoming
conversion to HD Radio. This will result in a higher quality and more
reliable digital signal for KUT. You will still be able to hear us
online and in San Angelo at KUTX, but we may be off the air most of
Sunday here in Austin. Thanks very much for your patience as we work
to bring you a better sounding KUT (from http://www.kut.org via DXLD)
** U S A. The subject of an FM High School station broadcasting two
high school football games at once, one in the left channel and one in
the right channel, came up in the engineering board. I seem to recall
hearing of one such station in Texas. Anyone know which station it is?
Can it be heard in the North Texas area? Thanks, (Robert Bass, Aug 26,
Radio-info TX board via DXLD)
KHSN IN "Shine on 9" in Liberty, Texas, east of Houston. They have
Liberty games in one channel and Dayton in the other. They stream at
KHSN.com WITH instructions how to listen to each (edwardrmurrow,
ibid.) By adjusting balance on wmp (gh, DXLD)
It`s actually KSHN 99.9 FM Liberty/Dayton And the website is
http://www.kshn.com (j_u_a_n, ibid.)
Despite the stupid double-ballgames, seems to be a fine local service
station, even with daily ``Radiograms`` available by e-mail or online
with lotsa local news. I listened for a few minutes to both channels
at once, in parallel (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. I asked Kevin Kelly of http://www.publicradiofan.com why he
had a new listing for KSUT, since they had been webcasting for some
time? (gh)
It's actually more complicated. There are actually two co-owned
stations in Ignacio, Colorado:
KUTE-FM 90.1 "Four Corners Public Radio"
KSUT-FM 91.3 "Southern Ute Tribal Radio"
The stations run mostly parallel, but 91.3 breaks away for several
hours per weekday of tribal programming.
Several things make this situation more confusing. They use the name
"KSUT" to identify both stations on air, though the legal owner of
both stations is "KUTE, Inc." The 91.3 was the original station and
used to be called "Four Corners Public Radio." The 90.1 has only
existed since 1998, and the separate programming may be even newer
than that. Since then, the "KSUT, Four Corners Public Radio" format
has essentially been moved from 91.3 to KUTE-FM 90.1, making way for
the tribal programming on 91.3.
So, as I just learned recently, the stream and program schedule that I
had been listing as "KSUT" was actually not the programming of KSUT-
FM, but rather KUTE-FM. Since I generally try to use proper call
letters rather than slogans (especially misleading ones), I renamed
that station on my site from KSUT to KUTE.
But then, a couple of days ago, I found out that they had started
streaming the true KSUT, the tribal station. (Previously only the FCPR
service had been streamed.) Therefore I added a new database entry for
this newly-streaming actual KSUT. So that's the new listing you saw.
I'm not sure why the station perpetuates misinformation about its call
letters. Google "KSUT 90.1" and you'll find 42 wrong documents. And
while Radio-Locator.com gets the calls right for 90.1 and 91.3, they
have all the translators of KUTE incorrectly listed as being
translators of KSUT. And that info may come directly from the FCC.
Surely a longer story than you expected, but there it is (Kevin A.
Kelly, Arlington, Massachusetts, USA, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. MINISTER MIXUP FORCES PAUL HARVEY 'KILL' ORDER
August 26, 2005 BY ROBERT FEDER SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST
http://www.suntimes.com/output/feder/cst-fin-feder26.html
A mixup in ministers prompted ABC News Radio to issue an emergency
order to 1,300 affiliates to kill Paul Harvey's news and commentary
broadcast on Wednesday.
Harvey, 86, whose Chicago-based broadcasts routinely rank at or near
the top of the most widely heard radio programs on the planet, meant
to deliver a commentary on the controversy over Christian Broadcasting
Network host Pat Robertson's call to assassinate Venezuelan President
Hugo Chávez.
But after the 15-minute taped broadcast already had been fed to
affiliates for airing, sources said, it was discovered that Harvey had
mistakenly referred to the Rev. Jerry Falwell, another prominent
Christian minister, instead.
ABC immediately sent out an urgent "mandatory kill" order and re-fed
affiliates a corrected version. It is not known whether the first
version aired anywhere. In Chicago, Harvey is carried on Tribune Co.-
owned news/ talk WGN-AM (720). (via Brock Whaley, DXLD)
So did Harvey approve or disapprove of this idea, whoever put it
forward? Hundred megabux they pay for this? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX
LISTENING DIGEST)
** U S A. WHAT WAS ROBERTSON THINKING?
Byline: Kenneth D. MacHarg Date: 08/25/2005
(SAN JOSE, COSTA RICA) Pat Robertson's image has been all over local
TV news in Latin America. The Virginia-based TV evangelist was shown
telling his "700 Club" audience that controversial Venezuelan
President Hugo Chávez ought to be assassinated because he's making
Venezuela "a launching pad for communist infiltration and Muslim
extremism." . . . Click here to read this story online:
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0825/p09s01-coop.html
(via Jim Moats, DXLD) Ken MacHarg, better known for DX Partyline, Tips
for Real Living, and the National Radio Club QSL column (gh, DXLD)
** U S A. TALK RADIO SHOWS' RECEPTION SEEMS TO BE GETTING WEAKER
Tim Rutten: Regarding Media
Talk is cheap — unless it's political talk on the radio, and then it's
influential. At least it has been. Now some people think the talk
bubble has, if not burst, begun to lose its wind. Since these days the
medium is overwhelmingly and partisanly Republican, those on the blue
side of the aisle fervently want this to be true. . .
http://www.calendarlive.com/tv/cl-et-rutten27aug27,2,159562.column
(LA Times via Brock Whaley, DXLD)
** U S A. No staffers are to be cut, but AP All-News Radio is. The
format, which went out to some 46 stations at last report, is being
discontinued, while AP sports coverage is being scaled back. AP all-
news radio was launched in 1994 as a 24-hour-per-day packaged news
service for radio stations specializing in all-news. AP Radio
spokesperson Roger Lockhart said all employees will be retained,
sometimes in other divisions or other departments. While all-news
stations nationally are successful, the growth in the format is seen
as local, not national. Barbra Cochran, Radio-Television News
Directors Association president, emphasized that ``people are looking
for local information, especially news.`` (July-Aug FMedia! via DXLD)
** U S A. Re: The Wandering KYNO-1300 --- Albert, Sounds like the old
10-kHz South East Asia band. Do you report the frequency errors to the
stations? (Charles A. Taylor, NC, ABDX via DXLD)
I tried reporting frequency errors to stations a few years ago, but I
didn't like the results. One station that was 370 Hz low claimed that
it must have been a foreign station that I heard because US stations
never drift that far off frequency. Now I just keep a list of
frequency measurements and post them at
http://home.att.net/~aelehr/pfm.htm
KYNO was on the high side for about a day, then they jumped back
down to 1299.706v kHz (Albert Lehr - Livermore, CA, ibid.)
** VENEZUELA [non]. Checking for ``Aló Presidente`` this Sunday Aug
28: at 1404 on 11875, frequency listing but did not catch them all.
One definitely mentioned was 17750, where I could hear nothing but a
very strong WYFR. Then confirmed // on 11670, also with WYFR but
somewhat atop it; and very good on 13750, much better than 13680.
Meanwhile normal RHC programming continued on 9550, 11760, 11800,
12000, 15230. However, the Aló frequencies were actually as usual also
programmed by RHC at the outset, going into the weekly news review
Mundo Siete at 1407. When I rechecked at 1505, 17750 actually had
enough signal from Cuba to cause a SAH to WYFR, but nothing more.
13750 had vanished, but 11875 and 11670 were still on; however, at
1509 they were giving the RHC e-mail address, not RNV. I guess Hugo
was late or MIA as often happens (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING
DIGEST)
** VIETNAM [non]. CLANDESTINE (Vietnam), 15555, Radio Hoa-mai (via
WHRI [sic], Hawaii). Returned the two prepared station QSLs, which I
mailed back to them, returned signed by Trinh Ngoc Anh. Reply in 20
days (Edward Kusalik, Alberta, CANADA, Aug 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** ZANZIBAR. R. Tanzania-Zanzibar, 11735, 1800-2059* Aug 20; 1800-1810
English news, 1810 into local language, 1814 local music; IDs heard at
2055, 2058. Sign-off with short NA; fair-good (Brian Alexander,
Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS --- see CANADA
++++++++++++++++++++++++
COMMENTARY
++++++++++
Graham Mytton Responds
About a month ago, I critiqued a piece by Dr. Graham Mytton asserting
there had been no decline in shortwave listenership. Dr. Mytton has
responded to my post, and you can view my original comments and his
response here (Harry Helms, August 22, 2005, futureofradio blog via
DXLD) viz.:
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/2817026
{does not work apparently unless clicked on from Helms site}
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference "Shortwave Decline
Doesn't Exist": Comments
I did not respond to this earlier because I was travelling in Nigeria
and Pakistan. I stand by everything that I wrote in the article
referred to. Let me answer the various points made by this writer, who
unless I have missed it, does not give her/his name. If he would give
me his contact details I can write with more detailed answers but for
general readership, let me answer his charges!
The point that I was making is that nobody apart from hobbyists ever
listens to shortwave. They listen to radio and use whatever medium
provides what they want. This is often shortwave and especially in
places where local media are stifled and controlled by dictatorships.
I will give one example. In the closing days of the military
dictatorship in Nigeria a survey in 1998 showed that the BBC enjoyed a
higher rate of listening than it enjoys in most countries anywhere in
the world. The weekly reach was 29% of the adult population. In the
north it was very much higher - in Kano City is was higher than it is
in the UK! At that time listeners in Kano and elsewhere listeners
[sic] had several services on FM. But they chose to listen to the BBC
in large numbers on shortwave because it provided what they otherwise
could not obtain. Independent and credible news about Nigeria and the
region. This has been published in a book and if anyone wants the
reference and a copy I can provide the details.
Yes, it is true that many shortwave stations have been cutting back
and even closing down. But as I have shown in several studies, based
entirely on survey research, conducted for the BBC and the VOA and
others, these cutbacks have less to do with survey evidence and more
to do with imagined declines in shortwave use. It is true that when
countries liberalise and free up their media there is a decline in the
levels of listening to international shortwave. But there are still
many areas in the world where liberalisation of the airwaves has not
yet happened or else it has happened so far only in the cities and
major towns. In the area of Nigeria where I have just been there is no
FM. If you want to listen to the radio, there is only shortwave to
listen to. There are many parts of Africa and Asia that are still like
this.
As to the quality of shortwave, I stick to what I said. Many of the
major international broadcasters have spent large amounts of money in
improving delivery quality. When my wife and I were recently on
holiday near Dar es Salaam in Tanzania we listened to the BBC World
Service daily. It is available both on local FM and on shortwave from
Seychelles. On many occasions the quality of the shortwave was better
than the FM. Why? I don't know but it probably has to do with poor
maintenance of the local FM and the excellent quality of shortwave
coming across the sea. But the same is true in many places that I have
visited recently, including the Gambia and parts of Asia and Europe.
Some of the other things he says are true. There has been decline in
some areas, but this has nothing to do with quality but everything to
do with what else is available. The points made about DRM and its
availability in poor countries are true and a major challenge to
international broadcasters. The problem for them all is that if they
want to continue to be accessible to everyone they need to spend more
money on making sure that they are available on every important
platform - the Internet, DRM, analogue shortwave, local FM, mobile
phones, and other services. That is the dilemma. The point that I want
to make with huge emphasis is that the most important thing that
international broadcasters must continue to do is to remain on old
fashioned analogue shortwave so that the information have-nots of the
world can continue to receive the services that they need and enjoy.
Graham Mytton gmytton @ gn.apc.org
Posted by: Graham Mytton | Aug 19, 2005 5:25:03 PM #
For the benefit of Dr. Mytton and anyone else who might be confused
over the authorship of this blog, I --- Harry Helms --- am the sole
author of all content here unless I clearly indicate otherwise. If you
want more details about me or wish to contact me via e-mail, see the
"About" and "E-mail me" links at the upper right of each page. I
thought this was obvious, but whatever. . . .
Unfortunately, Dr. Mytton's response is, in many respects, non-
responsive. For example, I took him to task in my original comments
for not supplying data about the supposed "countless surveys" that
support his contentions. In his reply, however, he still gives no
details about such "countless surveys" outside of a single reference
to a survey taken in Nigeria, and whose validity is supposedly
attested to by publication in a book. That's not adequate, Dr. Mytton;
if "countless surveys" support your contentions, then supply details -
-- or, better yet, web links to such survey results --- and let
everyone evaluate for themselves whether the available data support
your conclusions.
This is the internet era, and sweeping generalizations with vague
claims of supporting data don't cut it any longer; you have to provide
the documentation when you claim objective data supports your
argument. When Dr. Mytton writes "But as I have shown in several
studies, based entirely on survey research. . . . " it is his
responsibility to provide the details on such surveys and how that
data was obtained; this lets others decide how reliable such data is.
Dr. Mytton is making an ex cathedra argument, and I want to see his
data.
As for the shortwave vs. FM audio quality argument, I'll just ask
everyone to try this little experiment: find even one signal on
shortwave that sounds as good as the signal from a local FM station.
Nonetheless, I am grateful for (if not persuaded by) Dr. Mytton's
response, and I offer him all the space he wants here should he wish
to give a summary of his survey results and other supporting data for
his positions.
Posted on August 22, 2005 (Harry Helms, futureofradio blog via DXLD)
DIGITAL BROADCASTING
++++++++++++++++++++
DRM-CAPABLE CONSUMER RADIOS TO ARRIVE
AS MAJOR BROADCASTERS ANNOUNCE DRM CONTENT
Press Conference at IFA, Sept. 4 -- Industry Briefing at IBC, Sept.10
Berlin and Amsterdam – The world’s first, affordable DRMTM -capable
consumer radios will arrive at Europe’s media exhibitions IFA and IBC
in September, as major commercial and public broadcasters
simultaneously announce new and extended DRM broadcasts. DRM is the
world’s only non-proprietary, universally standardized, digital on-air
system for short-wave, medium-wave/AM and long-wave.
Texas Instruments and RadioScape will unveil several manufacturers’
multi-standard consumer receivers with DRM (Digital Radio Mondiale™),
DAB (Digital Audio Broadcast), FM - RDS, LW, MW and SW capabilities
based on TI’s DRM350 multi-standard digital radio baseband. Also,
Coding Technologies, AFG Engineering GmbH and Himalaya (Power)
Electronics will present a DRM-capable radio based on Analog Devices’
Blackfin®.
RTL Group will discuss its DRM strategy and will broadcast live RTL
programs in German, French and English. Deutsche Welle will reveal its
upcoming DRM expansion, and will broadcast live from IFA along with
RFI. BBC World Service launches its DRM Europe service to the Benelux
countries, and neighboring France and Germany. Radio Netherlands will
add special broadcasts to its existing DRM line-up during IFA and IBC.
DeutschlandRadio, Voice of Russia, TruckRadio, TDPradio, and CVC will
send DRM broadcasts. TDF and French broadcasters RFI, Radio France,
RTL, Europe 1, Radio de la Mer, Superloustic, Radio Orient, Radio
Télérama, Radio Nouveaux Talents, Beur FM and Littoral AM join
together for a special DRM transmission. T-Systems will broadcast
RADIO1 during IFA.
DRM will showcase the consumer radios and outline broadcasters’ plans
at two events:
September 4, Berlin: DRM Press Conference at IFA consumer
electronics show, featuring DRM Chairman/Deutsche Welle COO Peter
Senger, RTL Group, BBC World Service, RadioScape, Texas Instruments,
and World DAB Forum President Annika Nyberg.11:30 -12:30, in Hall 5.3
(TWF Stage).
September 10, Amsterdam: DRM Industry Briefing at IBC,
featuring DRM Vice Chairman/Radio Netherlands Director General Jan
Hoek, Peter Senger, WRN, and manufacturers.10:30-11:30, at the DRM
Stand (8.490).
Recently, UK commercial broadcasters Virgin Classic Rock, Classic Gold
Digital, Asian Sound Radio, Premier Christian Radio and CVC conducted
a MW DRM pilot scheme in the UK, provided by VT Communications. DRM
programs from Radio Sweden, TDF Radio, Radio Vatican, Radio New
Zealand International, Radio Australia, Radio Taiwan International,
TalkSPORT, Radio Kuwait, Radio Korea International, BYU Radio, SWR Das
Ding, biteXpress, B2-B5akt and Campus Radio are also available in
Europe.
An open standard, DRM has received the endorsement of the European
Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), the International
Telecommunications Union (ITU) and the International Electrotechnical
Committee (IEC).
While DRM currently covers the broadcasting bands below 30 MHz, the
DRM consortium voted in March 2005 to begin the process of extending
the system to the broadcasting bands up to 120 MHz. This will enhance
the range of non-proprietary, digital radio solutions offered
worldwide by the DRM Consortium and the World DAB Forum, which work
together on projects of mutual interest. The design, development and
testing phases of DRM’s extension are expected to be completed by
2007-2009.
DRM at IFA
At IFA, September 2-7, DRM will be featured at various locations. The
DRM Consortium Booth (Hall 5.3 -TWF, Stand 05) will display DRM
products from Atmel GmbH, Coding Technologies GmbH, Fraunhofer IIS,
RadioScape, Robert Bosch GmbH, TELEFUNKEN SenderSysteme Berlin AG,
Texas Instruments and others to be announced at IFA. The DRM Receivers
Booth (Hall 5.2, Stand 102), organized by RTL Group, Deutsche Welle,
Radio Netherlands, BBC, DeutschlandRadio, Voice of Russia, TruckRadio,
DRF, Radio de la Mer and Littoral AM, will showcase consumer products
and broadcasters’ plans. Several DRM members will also highlight their
DRM plans at their own IFA booths.
Following the DRM press conference at IFA on September 4, Peter Senger
and various DRM members will participate in a DRM Symposium, ``Talk In
TWF,`` in the same location, Hall 5.3, TWF Stage, 13:00-16:15.
Participants include BBC World Service, Fraunhofer IIS, Robert Bosch
GmbH, TELEFUNKEN SenderSysteme Berlin AG, Texas Instruments and T-
Systems.
DRM at IBC
At IBC, September 9-12, DRM-capable equipment and live DRM broadcasts
will be showcased at the DRM Stand in the Radio Hall (8.490).
Equipment from BBC, DIGIDIA, Coding Technologies GmbH, Nero AG,
RadioScape, Texas Instruments, Sat-Service Schneider, STARWAVES GmbH,
and others to be announced, will be on display.
DRM-capable products and live DRM broadcasts will also be available at
the stands of DIGIDIA, Harris Corporation-Broadcast Communications
Division, Nautel Ltd., RadioScape, RIZ Transmitters Co., TELEFUNKEN
SenderSysteme Berlin AG and Thales Broadcast & Multimedia.
About DRM
The DRM Consortium, founded in 1998, includes broadcasters,
broadcasting associations, network operators, manufacturers, NGOs and
others. DRM Consortium membership is at a record high of 93 members
from 30 nations.
With DRM, broadcasters can integrate data and text with audio, giving
consumers new features such as up-to-the-minute news scrolls and
traffic data. DRM broadcasts are now available in Europe, North
America, and North Africa. Testing is underway in Latin America and
Asia. DRM is online at www.drm.org (DRM Consortium Web site), as well
as www.deutsches-drm-forum.de (German), www.drmfrance.com (DRM
France), http://www.radiostationru/drm/index.php (Russian) and
http://www.usdrm.com (U.S.A. DRM Group).
DRM Members
Commercial Radio Australia (Australia); TDP, TDP Radio (Belgium);
Nautel Ltd., Radio Canada International/CBC (Canada); Academy of
Broadcasting Science of China, Communications University of China
(China); RIZ Transmitters (Croatia); HFCC (Czech Republic); ESPOL,
HCJB World Radio (Ecuador); Digita Oy, Kymenlaakso Polytechnik
(Finland); CCETT, DIGIDIA, DRF Committee, Radio France, Radio France
Internationale, TDF, Thalès Broadcast & Multimedia (France); ADDX,
APR, Atmel Germany GmbH, Coding Technologies GmbH, Deutsche Welle,
DeutschlandRadio, DLM, Sender Europa 1, Fraunhofer IIS, Georg-Simon-
Ohm – University of Applied Sciences Nuremberg, Harman/Becker
Automotive Systems GmbH, IRT, Medienanstalt Sachsen-Anhalt/Digitaler
Rundfunk Sachsen-Anhalt, Micronas GmbH, Nero AG, Robert Bosch GmbH,
Sony International Europe, SWR Südwestrundfunk, TELEFUNKEN
SenderSysteme Berlin AG, T-Systems International GmbH, University of
Applied Sciences - FH Merseburg, University of Hannover, University of
Ulm, VPRT (Germany); Antenna Hungaria, National Communications
Authority Hungary (Hungary); Basamad College, Tehran (Iran); Hitachi
Kokusai Electric Ltd., NEC Corporation, NHK (Japan); Samsung
Electronics (Korea); Libyan Jamahiriya Broadcasting (Libya);
Broadcasting Centre Europe, RTL Group (Luxembourg); Asia Pacific
Broadcasting Union (Malaysia); Agentschap Telecom, Nozema, Radio
Netherlands, Technical University Delft (Netherlands); Radio New
Zealand International (New Zealand); Voice of Nigeria (Nigeria);
Telenor/Norkring (Norway); Radiodifusão Portuguesa (Portugal);
RTRN/Voice of Russia (Russia); Government of Catalonia, Cadena SER -
Sociedad Española de Radiodifusión, Universidad del País Vasco,
(Spain); SR International/Radio Sweden (Sweden); EBU, International
Committee of the Red Cross, ITU (Switzerland); Arab States
Broadcasting Union (Tunisia); BBC, Christian Vision, Digital One Ltd.,
Imagination Technologies Ltd., QinetiQ, RadioScape Ltd., VT
Communications, WRN (U.K.); Broadcast Electronics, Inc., Dolby
Laboratories Incorporated, Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation,
Continental Electronics Corporation, Harris Corporation, Broadcast
Communications Division, IBB/VOA, Kintronic Laboratories, Inc.,
National Association of Short-wave Broadcasters, Sangean America,
Inc., TCI International, Inc., Texas Instruments Incorporated; Via
Licensing Corporation (U.S.A.); and Vatican Radio (Vatican City).# # #
(Siriol Evans, Director, Press & Communications, DRM, pressoffice @
drm.org http://www.drm.org Aug 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) see GERMANY
RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM
+++++++++++++++++++++
BRING BACK THE OLD FM BAND!
Half serious, half zany, this editorial is based on an old idea whose
time may have come. An article by Pennsylvania broadcast engineer Mark
Humphrey concerning testing by temporary station WA2XMN Alpine NJ got
me thinking.
Why not bring back the old 42-50 megacycle FM band? I know Armstrong
liked it, but I was too young to have paid attention to the arguments
for and against relocating FM to 88 to 108 Mc/s. The idea is not to
replace the current band, but to add to it in this age when FM real
estate is valuable, even in small markets. I think it was Larry Tighe
of WRNJ 1510 AM in Hackettstown NJ who suggested an additional FM
band, something like in the 220 MHz region. That idea didn`t fly,
probably because of opposition from point-to-point communications
interests. [and hams]
With the latest testing at Alpine, it was found very little use is
made of the old band, or at least the spectrum around 42.8 mc/s. My
mother once had the dual band Zenith FM radio with AM pictured. The
bands were labeled ``FM 100`` and ``FM 45``. It received all the new
band FM stations, but nothing was heard on the 42-50 megacycle band,
not even the Minnesota State Highway Patrol, when they were using
those frequencies.
Now for the zaniness --- imagine a windfall of 8 MHz for new FM
stations. They could be commercial, noncommercial or a combination of
each. Ownership could be like LPFM, one station to a customer, or they
could be in regional or national groups. Stereo, mono, SCA/SCMO, in-
band, on channel digital audio broadcasting, or technologies not yet
dreamed of, could all be accommodated. Indeed, like its predecessor,
the new band could be designated at least in part for experimenting
with new technologies or programming.
Chile is using spectrum in the old FM band for Muzak type services ---
music in the clear with no need for subcarriers or encryption. And the
stations have been widely heard by scanner enthusiasts via skip.
Let your imagination soar. A new FM band could be a reality. Bring
back the old Zenith two-band FM radio and others like it! Once
stations are on the air, manufacturers will make the sets, the public
will demand them and the nation will be better served (Bruce F.
Elving, Ph.D., July-August FMedia! via DXLD)
PREMIUM RECEIVERS
Re 5-147, correct URL is: http://kahuna.sdsu.edu/~premium/
or http://kahuna.sdsu.edu/~premium/index.htm
(Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
THE KANGAROO IS BACK! [Re 5-147, CANADA]
A number of years ago, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway ran an LPTV
station for one day during the Indianapolis 500. Fans could bring
mini-TVs and pick up the in-the-clear UHF signal, which was broadcast
from the top of the control tower. I had a hand-held TV in Turn 1 and
could get the signal, which varied as I turned back and forth. They
used just enough power so the signal wasn't supposed to be visible
outside the track property. (In Indianapolis, the 500 is still seen on
tape-delay, and they didn't want to cut into their live gate). The
channel was somewhere in the 40s, I think. It was a one-year deal. The
following May, the giant screens began to spring up around the track
(Tim Cronin, Worth, IL (vroom), WTFDA via DXLD)
Crystal Ball Refractions
Here's an interesting -- and sobering -- article for all those of us -
- me included -- that like to think that we have at least a limited
ability to anticipate what the future will hold for
telecommunications.
Parenthetically, I am reminded of the head of the US Patent Office in
1900 who said rather emphatically words to the effect that just about
everything that could be invented had been invented. I suppose I can
console myself with the knowledge that at least I've never said that.
(John Figliozzi, NY, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.:
CONFOUNDING MACHINES: HOW THE FUTURE LOOKED
By PETER EDIDIN August 28, 2005
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/28/weekinreview/28edid1.html
(via John Figliozzi, ibid.) ###